"In the little spare time I have between making horrible free agent signings and hiring incompetent scouts, I read "Straight up Sports" Brian "Free Pass" Cashman
So a few quasi-interesting things happened today. Nothing worthy of their own blog, but let's talk about 'em anyways.
1.The Daily News is saying that the Nets' move to Brooklyn is dead. And I'm going to agree with them, because as Confucius once said, "When the main architect working on the project lays of all of his workers from said project, project probably doesn't get built."
But give the Nets credit: they didn't take this lying down. Nets CEO, Brett Yeomark, when asked by Evan and Joe whether the Brooklyn Arena would happen, said "Yes."
There you have it folks! The Nets WILL play in Brooklyn in '11/'12, because Brett Yeomark said so. Yeomark continued to build credibility with Evan and Joe by saying, "People from Brooklyn have been buying tickets to Nets games to check out the team that they will be inheriting in a few years. And not only is the Loch Ness Monster real, but he owes me about $3.50."
So yeah, the Nets could end up in Brooklyn...or they could move to a brand new arena that's already built in downtown Newark, a town that's probably home to a basketball fan or two. But hey, if they moved to Newark, who or what is going to displace all of the Brooklyn naval yard locals?
2. Apparently John Madden and Brian Gionta are free agents after this season. Two tough decisions to make on two fan favorites if they both want big money. (Gionta made $4 million, Madden slightly under $3 million last year.) On the one hand, Madden, as a top defensive forward, is probably more valuable than Gionta, a 2nd line scorer whose goal totals have dropped each year since Judas Gomez centered his line. Based on that, if either one of them asks for a raise (not necessarily a guarantee given) Lou should give in to Madden but not Gionta. That said, Madden is going to be 36 in May. (Is it just me or should he be closer to 32?) And Gionta is going to be 30. The ideal situation would be to sign Madden to one last 2 yr/6 mil contract and sign Gionta to a 3 year deal worth between $10 and $12 million. Possibly throw on a fourth year due to the shame he must feel knowing that BU will have won the '09 NCAA Hockey Tourney.
Roger Goondell has continued his reign of terror by now further neutering the league with the latest rule proposals during the GM meetings.
Take a look at some of these gems. Three are awful... truly outrageous, truly outrageous...ly awful.
1) On an onside kick, at least three players must be lined up outside each inbounds line, one of whom must be outside the yard-line number. Folks, this is the type of change we can believe in. This basically eliminates the "bunch" onside kick formation, which the competition committee felt was causing too many injuries.
And in another shocking twist, the league has done away with the three-man wedge that once allowed three grown men to hold hands and race up the field together on kick returns. Here's how Rule 6, Section 1, Article 3(d) now reads:
"After the ball is kicked, no more than two receiving team players may intentionally form a wedge in an attempt to block for the runner. An illegal wedge is defined as three or more players lined up shoulder-to-shoulder within two yards of each other."
Fine, this is okay. Many of the guys have been knocked the eff out because of these wedges of death. The league just doesn't give a shit because these are special teamers and not Tawm Brady.
But the league did offer this other rule:
2) NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira explained Tuesday afternoon at the St. Regis Hotel, site of the annual owners' meeting, that rules have been clarified to classify Pollard's hit as roughing the passer for a hit below the knee.
"If you go to the ground, you can't forcibly lunge," Pereira said.
Pereira said the quarterback "has a strike zone from the shoulder to the knees" where all hits are allowable. But below the knee, a defender cannot lead with his helmet or shoulder. That will be a 15-yard penalty.
Pereira did say defenders may wrap up or swipe at a quarterback's lower legs to bring him down.
My main issue with this is also this part: "If you go to the ground, you can't forcibly lunge." What on earth does this mean. If you are on the ground are you considered out of the play? What constitutes a lunge? The problem with these rules is that there is not a clear cut definition for what's a lunge and what isn't.
Apparently it means 'if a defensive player going after the QB is on the ground....he should have to get back on his feet before hitting the QB'. But with wrapping up or swiping at the legs, do they really expect defenses to stand a chance?
Furthermore, now a defender can't do the following: (1) lunge or launch himself into the QB, (2)pick them up, (3) drive them into the ground by falling on them, (4)hit them at or below the knee, (5)hit them anywhere in the head, and (6) specifically no head/head contact, etc.
The no head/head rule is the one that kills me the most. How is a 6'3 defender supposed to hit a 6'3 QB w/o the huge risk of a head/head hit? Well, he has to lower his head (another penalty), be sure to hit the QB's body first (w/o lunging), and bring him down to the ground w/o picking him up or falling on him. Oooookaaaaay. Now, the NFL thinks the defender should have to get back up before hitting the Qb at all? WTH?
Okay fine you gotta protect your QBs but for god sake please call it evenly for all QBs. I'm tired of guys like Brady, Manning getting preferential treatment while some others get smashed and get no calls because they are "big." You wonder if the league would make this a rule if it didn't happen to the golden boy? Would this be a rule if Brodie Croyle got hit by Rodney Harrison in the same way as Brady did to Pollard? Let me dust off the old magic 8 ball and say 'ALL SIGNS POINT TO NO.'
3) The third accepted proposal involves a play in which Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward made a block that resulted in a broken jaw for Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers. A 15-yard penalty will be enforced if a player delivers a blindside block to the head of a defender using his helmet, forearm or shoulder. The penalty will be enforced if a helmet, shoulder or forearm strikes the head or neck of the defender.
This rule angers me more than all others. I understand that you got to protect the players but again this rule isn't clear. Let me try to reason this one out.
If you hit the body you're still within the rules. The issue with the "blind-side" block rule will be that refs will not only have to determine whether there was contact to the head, but also if the block was in fact a "blind-side" block. If it was then it's a penalty. If it wasn't a blindside block & the same contact occurs, it's legal.
So, basically, all a defender has to do is turn away from an offensive player ready to block, and that offensive player is essentially taken out of the play.
Thanks NFL.
4) The final change adds forearm and shoulder hits to protect defenseless receivers. In the past, officials gave an unnecessary roughness penalty to a defender if he delivered a helmet hit to a receiver going across the middle of the field or any spot on the field in which he appeared to be defenseless. Starting this fall, the penalty will also apply if the defender hits the defenseless receiver in the head or neck with his forearm or shoulder.
So now the defender has to be certain that both the receiver's feet are on the ground before he lays the wood?
So I suppose this means the WR will have a free opportunity to catch the ball, gain possesion, get their feet down, wipe their nose, change the maxipad, look-out for a defender, and take shit all before the defender can legally tough him. I guess teams can now resign the great Todd Pinkston off the scrap heap.
Now every single pass will be thrown a tad high so every receiver can jump up to nicely catch it in the air and land safely on the ground. It would be completely within the rules to jump for every pass, and you'd never be able to hit the wideout until he lands with two feet on the ground and has possession. This would ensure a much, much higher completion percentage for QBs since their WRs cannot be hit until they have possession, unlike presently when whether in the air or on their feet defenders can aim to lay the wood to dislodge a ball before the receiver has possession.
BRILLIANT!
Conclusion:
Can someone tell me how this is fucking possible? This does nothing but slow the game down.
In fact, all of these rule changes are completely adverse to what the league has built; a hard hitting game where some of the best athletes in the world can make plays and win championships.
Forget the adage "Defense wins championships." Defense may win championships but offense sells tickets. We now see where the priority really lies with the league.
The year was 2004, and a handsome-but-balding 22 year old came together with a fellow 22 year old who would one day grace the streets of the South Bronx like only a White Boy could. They decided to make the greatest 527, non-profit political action committee that man had ever known: YANKEE FANS FOR KERRY. Did they know how to create a non-profit? No. Did they even try and solicit for volunteers and/or money? Um, you're missing the point. Mainly, that these young go getters, by sharing their opinions with, well, each other, but really loudly, were going to ensure a liberal in the White House and championship #27 in the Bronx...
And needless to say, it was a depressing November '04 for these future Bill Simmons-wannabes. You know the deal: Kevin Millar and Dave Roberts happened. A president with the IQ to bowl a 129 continued his presidency. But ya know who had it good? This tubby motherfucker.
In the words of the immortal Ronald Burgundy, Go f$@k yourself, Curt Schilling. I hope Obama taxes you like an AIG bonus and you have to sell your championship rings on ebay just to fufill your 4,000 calorie per day diet.
A high-priced former madam who used to provide hookers for former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer provided the same services for injured Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and dated him, the Daily News reported yesterday.
Former madam Kristin Davis, who served three months in jail and is on five years' probation after pleading guilty to promoting prostitution, would only speak in generalities when reached for comment by Newsday today.
"All I can say is there is a connection," she said when asked about A-Rod. She declined to comment on the specific allegations, saying she does "not talk about my personal life or who I date."
Who knew that AROD would be "dating" the prude from Sex in the City. Shouldn't we be praising him?? Well I will. Well done Alex.
Sure as hell beats Madonna or whoever he is doing now.
Now if only Rod could translate this success into some October baseball.
Overall a weak crop of guards but maybe the best class of centers in decades also. The key with this class seems to be position flexibility as a many of the prospects can double as both guards and centers.
OGs:
The guards available in 2008 are somewhat lacking overall but there is talent available in the early to mid rounds. Robinson is the best guard in the draft and maybe sneak into the first round. Levitre is next but is aboard the Mike Mayock bandwagon. Herman Johnson is a massive massive man and has seen his stock upgrade during the post season because he went from 382 to 365 or something. How the hell does an NFL prospect get to 382??!?!
Canfield is an intriguing prospect but has some off the field incidents that didn't involve playing cornhole at Cincinnati. Parker, Vasquez, and Urbikk battled injuries throughout the season and may drop in the process.
1) Duke Robinson /Oklahoma/ 1st - 2nd
2) Herman Johnson / LSU/ 2nd
3) Andy Levitre / Oregon State / 2nd
4) Trevor Canfield / Cincinnati/ 3rd
5) Tyronne Green / Auburn / 3rd - 4th
6) Kraig Urbik / Wisconsin / 3rd - 4th
7) Louis Vasquez / Texas Tech / 4th
8) Anthony Parker / Tennesee / 4th - 5th
OCs:
A very good group of centers to come out in a while with nearly all of them being projected to guard as well. This class is much better than last year's wash. Mack might be the center prospect ever. He'll be drafted early 2nd or late first but he could be a team's anchor for 10 years. Unger's unique selling point is that he's had experience playing everywhere along the offensive line but RT. He could be a very good center or guard but needs to hold up a bit better at the point. Caldwell has had his stock improve since the combine unlike teammate Andre Smith and has shown he can handle the big DTs of the SEC throughout his college career. Wood is a bit of a sleeper and might be taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of round 1 although I still say it's too high. He has shown to also handle big NTs but his problem is more consistency. Still these 5 are all better than any prospect last year and will help solidify the middle of the offensive line for years to come.
So why would all of a sudden would The Yinzer like a Panther fan? Probably cause said fan mixed two of his favorite things at once: hockey and boobs.
Yes, you can see where this is going. This lady Panther fan decided that it would be a good idea to show the world on television what her "pucks" looked like, and press them up against the glass to further the effect.
I'm not exactly sure what the SUS policy is on posting nude pics/videos (though I'm sure most writers here would be all for it), so I'll just link you to the site that has both a censored and non-censored video. And if nothing else, it makes the post work friendly, if we are actually considered work friendly to begin with.
A few thoughts about the opening weekend of the NCAA tourney while sounding the annual Can we PLEASE have Gus Johnson for more than opening weekend alarm...
-White Boy, to his credit, is one of the few people who have consistently said that they don't like watching college basketball because the quality of play isn't nearly that of the NBA. After watching the Siena-Ohio State first round matchup, White Boy's statement was eerily prescient. (Interesting counter-argument to White Boy's "quality of play" theory: The NBA, at various times, has given out paychecks to Stephon Marbury, Chris Dudley, and Brian Scalabrine)
-So as the owner of a UNC-champion bracket, I've never been more concerned with a player I hadn't heard of 3 weeks before than this Ty Lawson injury. And because I can't identify Lawson, I ended up shouting "Nice play, Lawson!" every time a black dude scored. Racist? No. Just a guy who doesn't know his NCAA players. What can I say? I REALLY wants bragging rights over my friends. And yes, that was me shouting at the TV, asking for UNC trainers to raid Barry Bonds' medicine cabinet in order to heal Lawson.
-So do UNC and Duke really share the same stadium for the first two rounds? To paraphrase Chris Rock, when Duke (douchebags) students are taking pride in UNC being down in the second half, you shouldn't be allowed to kill Duke students...but you can certainly shake the shit out of 'em.
-Mike Francessa told me and the other 5 people who still listen to his show that Marquette doesn't miss free throws, giving me a good reason to put Marquette in the sweet 16. All I ask, is that Francessa not confuse Marquette (a few missed free throws) and Missouri (nailed nearly all of 'em) next year.
-2 pet peeves of mine, which anyone watching this Tourney with me is fully aware of: 1. Hey college guys, stop taking NBA 3-pointers. This makes you look cocky and asshole-ish, not pro-ready. Step up to the line and take your glorified jump shot of an NCAA 3 pointer.
2. Down 1 or tied? Please don't take a 3 pointer unless there's simply not enough time to get inside the 3 point line. In theory, it should be easier to drive the lane and try and score from a layup or close jump shot. So just stop taking 3 pointers when a 2 will do.
2a-Amusing sidenote- My dad thinks that the 3 point field goal has ruined basketball. This has to be akin to saying that football hasn't been the same since the introduction of the forward pass.
-And lastly, there needs to be more upsets in the NCAA Tournament. 2 examples why:
1) I had a historic run in the first round-none of my Sweet Sixteen teams were knocked out until Wake Forest lost to Cleveland's greatest export, Cleveland State. And yet, because there were so few upsets, I was only in the top 25% of most of my pools. (Update: After Sunday, not even Sully can save this sinking ship known as my bracket.)
2) Over the last two years, the Final Four has consisted of 6 #1 seeds, 2 #2 seeds, and nothing else. Now, people are picking anywhere from 2-4 #1 seeds, and #2 seeds in place of the #1 seeds. Where's the imagination here? (Full disclosure: I picked UNC, Pitt, Michigan State, and Memphis, 2 #1's, 2 #2's) I remember a time, back when Mark Wahlberg was Marky Mark, Ace of Base was on the radio, and snap bracelets were all the rage, where you wouldn't DREAM of putting more than 2 #1 seeds in your final four. It just didn't happen. Now? People with no imagination are being rewarded for their lack of creativity when 3 or 4 #1 seeds get to the Final Four. This lack of creativity isn't just taking the fun out of the brackets; it's un-American.
And lastly, only because you asked...in the only NCAA tournament that matters, YOUR Boston University Terriers open up against the Ohio State (hockey) Buckeyes Saturday, March 28, 5:30 pm.
With attendance at sporting events dropping faster than a pass thrown to Braylon Edwards, many teams are turning to running various promotions as an innocent way of getting more fans to attend a game against a crappy opponent, or to put seats in the stands for a team that isn't playing so well. Like the New Jersey Nets "Resume Night". Unemployed? Still want to watch us lose?! Give us your resume, we'll give you a ticket! Or the various teams that have offered their obese fans an economical way to gorge on hot dogs AND cheer on their favorite teams with all you can eat seat nights.
Sometimes though, said promotions go horribly, horribly wrong.
Honestly, the brains behind some of these schemes were a few beers short of a six pack. A quick look at some of the more infamous promotions gone awry will show that they clearly had "bad idea" written all over them from the start. I mean, did anyone really expect events involving explosives or 10 cent beer to end well?
September 26, 1942. Scrap Metal Night.
Yes, you read that right. Hello sports fans. Hate when things don't go the right way for your team? US TOO! That’s why tonight, we're having 'Bring Your Own Weapon' Night. Oh wait, we can't run that promotion? Ok, hmm, isn't there a war or something going on? Yea, yea, that’s a good idea. Let's let kids in free if they bring us shiny sharp pieces of metal. Cue 8th inning. Picture riotous youth storming the field and the players running for cover and squealing like little girls. Brilliant!
July 12, 1979 Disco Demolition Night.
I can just see someone sitting around making a list. Likes: Baseball, Explosives. Dislikes: Disco. Hmm, how can I combine all of these things into one stellar evening? How about let fans into the Comiskey Park for 98 cents and a disco record, all of which we will BLOW UP WITH A BOMB in between a double header. Apparently close to 90,000 people thought that this was indeed an awesome idea and showed up to a stadium with a capacity of roughly 50,000 and quickly began downing copious amounts of beer and per some reports "illegal drugs". "Woah… man… these records look like Frisbees”. I'm sure it's not easy to keep your team alive when you're being pelted in the head by "Stayin' alive" Shockingly, setting a bomb off in a stadium full of drunk, high, anti-disco fans somehow back fired. They some how managed to blow a huge hole in the outfield, inciting a riot, complete with field storming and fire-starting. (If you can't picture this in your mind, check out some great old-school pictures)
August 10, 1995 Dodgers' fans have balls!
I'm sure you've all been at a game where someone on the opposing team hits a home run and the entire stadium starts chanting "throw it back, throw it back". Now imagine all of these people suddenly realize they have all been armed with promotional baseballs upon entering the stadium. If you were an umpire in this game, would you start making questionable calls against the home team and ejecting players from the game? Or if you did, would you be surprised when the crowd started to make it rain? (And not in a way that someone who is "dancing her way through school" profits from). Yea didn't think so.
And last but not least, the biggest disaster of them all.
June 4, 1974 10 Cent Beer Night.
I really can't even do this night justice. There was an article about it on ESPN'S Page 2 this summer. Upon reading it I didn't know if I should be embarrassed or proud that this happened in Cleveland. Or that if it made me a horrible person that the article had me in tears I was laughing so hard at the absurdity of it. It was the 70s. People were drunk. And high. And for some reason came to the game armed with firecrackers. At one point, they were allowing fans to line up and get beer directly from the beer trucks. The drunken debauchery started innocently enough with a handful of streakers. But as the game progressed, and the fans got drunker, things got uglier. The end result was both dugouts emptying out and a full out riot. A quote from one of the crew chiefs (after a freaking hunting knife landed behind him) kind of sums up the whole thing: "F------ animals! You just can't pull back a pack of animals. When uncontrolled beasts are out there, you gotta do something. I saw two guys with knives, and I got hit with a chair."
Hopefully we can learn from these past mistakes and teams think twice before scheduling things like hypodermic needle night or "Hedge Fund Appreciation Night" on the same night as the mini bat give-a-way. Then again, it would make for a nice follow up post.
1) More Gus Johnson less Dick Enberg please- Dick Enberg did the impossible last night. Virginia Commonwealth University was trailing by 1 and holding for the game’s final shot. Its superstar EricMaynor had the ball and was isolated 1 on 1 against UCLA stud Darren Collison. This was epic sports drama. Man vs. Man. Mano y Mano. However, you wouldn’t have known that from listening to the listless Dick Enberg. He sounded as if he not only didn’t care who won the game but also sounded as if he had zero appreciation for the incredibly exciting few seconds that were about to commence. As Maynor’s ill-fated game winning shot attempt was on its way up Enberg said in a very calm and understated tone, “Maynor to win, no, and that’s it.” Then there is the excitable and admittedly over the top Gus Johnson. However, Gus Johnson is, as the legendary Seinfeld character George Costanza said about fictional comedian Kenny Banya, “the voice ofnew generation, my generation!” The same can be said of Gus. Gus is the voice of my generation. He is passionate about sports and he lets that passion ooze out of him during his broadcast.Being impartial does not require an even tone but rather an equal amount of excitement for the success and failures of each team playing in a given contest. Gus is the master of this. So yea, more young blood Gus and less Old fart Dick please.
2) We the American people identify with college basketball players because their coaches treat them like our bosses treat us- I just realized this today while reading a brilliant column in the New York Daily News by Mr. Bob Raissman. He reminded us that the coaches are waaaaaay bigger stars than the players in each and every tournament .A certain element of this is the nature of the beast. College players stay for a maximum of4 seasons where as coaches such as Jim Boehemim and Coach K (no fucking way I’m trying to spell that name) have coached a their schools longer than I have been alive. So naturally more drama will be built up for and more fan allegiance will go towards a coach than would be built up towards players. However, part of this is the media’s fault. As Raissman astutely noted,the media will oversell andexaggerate the greatness of isolated coaching moves such as a slight change in a practice or a very subtle change in a defensive scheme.Chances are, these coaches are just brilliant recruiters and excellent motivators but not so brilliant at the x’s and o’s that a slight tweak in a game plan will make their team of stars play well.His article made me realize that the reason we love NCAA basketball way more than the NBA (though not me as you know I love the association)is because we identify with the players more. Not only are college players more likely to be white than NBA players, they also are treated like dogshit in the same way we are by our bosses. These players are yelled at because their coaches are displacing their anger at their wives onto them just like our bosses yell at us because they are projecting their own insecurity about their job status onto us (okay now it’s getting personal). Still though, the fact remains, we can relate to college players waaaay more than pro players.However, you know my view; I’d rather watch the greatest playersin a particular sport play against each other than watch a bunch of slow 6”5 white dudes “hustle!” and show “grit.”
3)CBS needs to buy up and/or create other networks ala NBC, ABC and FOX-Having boring monotone conservative white men calling most of its games is not the only issue I have with CBS’s coverage of this tournament.It also needs to make some new sister channels so that it can broadcast more of its games simultaneously in the first few rounds of a given year's tournament. How sweet would it be if you could watch one game on CBS, another on CBS news,yet another on CBS family and yet another on CBS sports channel.I know you could pay a boatload of money to get this opportunity on your favorite Satellite or Cable Company but comeeoooooon; we should be able to do this for free.
4)Too many near huge upsets that were not to be- Whether it was the aforementioned near upset by one of Virginia’s 25 Division 1 schools of UCLA or Kansas’s scare today against North Dakota State, there have been some tantalizing near upsets that have not come to fruition. Perhaps the most exciting one was last night’s 14 point come from behind win by Villanova against upstart American University. Memphis also nearly blew its load prematurely before realizing it wanted to give the girl a chance to have an orgasm too and stick around in this tournament or the long haul. It is just clear to this sports fan and basketball enthusiast that these high seeds were not that into these games until they had to be. Put another way, good coaching job by you Jeff Capel (Oklahoma) and Jim Boeheim getting your highly seeded teams to play hard against inferior competition. However, bad coaching John Calipari and Jay Wright.
5)It’s not going to be a Merry Christmas in Woodside under a Morning star-Of course I am referring to the wonderful names that have been casualties of the first round of the NCAA tournament.The North Dakota Bison boast a mediocre team but two phat last names in its starting lineup: Woodside and Morningstar. Sadly the Bison lost in a hard fought 84-74 game against the superior and tournament tested Kansas Jayhawks. Even worse, the Temple Owls' star Dionte Christmas will also apparently be bowing out after today as his club is on the brink of defeat as we sit here at 4:15 pm. Oh well, I guess the nation can now turn its lonely eyes to youex Providence standout God Shamgod.
6)It’s a down economy unless you are a fairly good but not great 2 or 3 seed-Apparently being in the top 15 but not in the top 5 in the country is the secret to earning home court advantage in the tournament’s opening weekend. Duke and Nova barely have to pass a stop sign or two to get to their NCAA tournament opening round game sites where as consensus #1 overall Seed Louisville has to travel to Dayton, Ohio. Now I do believe Dayton is not too far from Louisville but the Cardinals definitely have to travel at least as far if not farther than Duke who is playing in Greensborough and Nova who is playing inside its own city of Philly as a 3 seed!!! How is this possible????
7)Where have you gone NCAA tournament pools?- I tried my hardest to find money pools to join. I have many social outlets including my fellow SUS buddies, people who are friends with my parents, White Girl, and friends at school. Somehow though, I was completely unable to find a single pool to join with money involved. I had to settle on joining one yahoo tournament with the artist formerly known as the B.I.G. (he’s too thin now to keep that moniker.)Anyway, to add insult to injury, I also joined a second pool through Facebook with a certain high ranking official at SUS who will remain nameless. However, this pool only has two members, myself and himself and it only has one member who actually filled a bracket, yours truly. Ugh. Oh well, I guess I get to root for bragging rights and pride. Woo hoo!
In a blow to Gary Bettman's effort to remake the NHL as the quiet kid in your high school class you never realized existed, Alex Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season last night for the third year in a row. Ovechkin continued his quest for a razzie by doing some sort of celebration in which he insinuated that the ice was hot.
The celebration, as funny as it was awkward, was another example of Ovechkin doing everything he can to try and give some life to a league that continues to be a comedic punchline. And in news as unsurprising as seeing a Stanley Cup Finals game bumped for professional bowling coverage, the powers that be are pissed.
Part-time altar boy and head coach of Tampa Bay Lightning, Rick Tocchet said of Ovechkin, "He went down a notch in my books after that. It's not something I like. It's hard for me to accept, to see something like that in our building."
In related news, Tocchet, the self-appointed moral compass of the NHL, pled guilty over the summer to charges of running a gambling ring. I could go off on a rant about how fighting in hockey allows the NHL to police itself when someone breaks an unwrittten rule. But the simple fact is this: the NHL needs all the publicity that it can get. Alex Ovechkin's antics, however lacking in classical comedic timing, get the NHL noticed. And unless Marty McSorley or Donald Brashear are involved, any publicity is good publicity for the NHL.
Rick Tocchet and those who share his opinion, needs to sit down and shut up. Send a tough guy (does Tampa have any?) after Ovechkin and make him a non-factor. After all, it was either Confucius or Shakespeare who once said the following:
"If you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day. If you knock his ass out, the fish will need to be fed through a straw."
Best Case: Final Four. Mountaineers overcome hideous Bob Huggins wardrobe to become the surprise team of March, charging to Detroit behind blossoming freshman forward Devin Ebanks. Team toughened by 11 games against the RPI top 50 dispatches Dayton with ease, upsets Kansas in the second round, does the same to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 and then finally gets over on Louisville after two competitive losses during the regular season. Meanwhile, Pitt loses early and Rich Rodriguez comes down with the flu in Ann Arbor.
Pat Forde is dead-on with his analysis right here. The only thing that would make this more true would be to correct the Rich "ShrivelDick" Rod part to read "...contracts a fatal case of syphilis from a transvestite hooker giving a rimjob while looking at child porn". WVU is a powder keg waiting to explode. They've reached the Sweet Sixteen in 3 of the past 4 years and made it to the Elite Eight in 2005. Freshmen Brooklyn natives Devin Ebanks and Darryl Bryant have gotten better every game this year, powering the Mountaineers with an impressive rebounding and defensive game that can dominate more talented teams. Look, these first few rounds will be a cakewalk for WVU, that's the benefit of playing in the toughest conference in college basketball. With leaders like Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler, the Mountaineers will be ready to play. And if not, Huggy Bear gon' hafta slap a ho.
NEW RULE:Stars of dramatic HBO shows may not move to network sitcoms. Likewise, after you do a network sitcom, you're banned from HBO.
You are Stringer Bell from The Wire. You are one of the greatest one of the greatest bad guys ever created. You are the street thug who took economic classes at Baltimore County College. You are not the Vice President of Dunnder Mifflin, no matter what the digital cable says. (Though you run a nice stationary store as a front in Baltimore.) Go back to the Towers and stay the hell away from Pam Beasley.
(And Captain Winters, if you show up as a neighbor on Two and a Half Men, you're dead to me too.)
A very strong class of players available for those needing an ungrade (cough Steelers) but also so much potential hope in the mid rounds as well. I'll take you through the cast of hundreds but still this is a very good class for Tackles and Centers. Guards are a bit meh but have the guards in the league now are former tackles anyway so whatever.
Andre Smith was a #1 pick before the bowl games and has promptly decided that he doesn't want to be the richest 22 yr old alive. Sadly he decided to get an agent a week too soon. Than he decided to not work out prior to the combine. Than he went to the combine and was out of shape so he left. Now he just had his pro day and his numbers went to shit. Just a horrendous couple of months for Smith who had the game tape to go #1 easily.
With Smith throwing away money, Jason Smith from THE Baylor university has risen up the boards and is a potential sleeper pick for number 1. Smith had a solid combine and while his tape isn't nearly as impressive as Andre's, Jason actually showed up. He put up the second highest amount of reps on the bench and displayed a decent 40 speed for a guy 310 lbs at 5.1.
Right behind Smith is D'Brickashaw Ferguson 2k9 in Eugene Monroe. Monroe is similar to Jason Smith in that both are nimble LT with decent feet. Monroe should still a top 5 pick like D'Brick but display a similar career arch. Will he ever be Orlando Pace? Doubtful but many teams would kill for D'Brick.
Oher is an interesting case. He dominated in college and could do the same thing in the pros but there are noticeable questions involving his mind. Teams will also test him out quite a bit in interviews and see how well he can pick up an offensive scheme at the pro level. Much was made of his upbringing as a child and his struggles to get his grades in order in high school in the book, The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. In Ole Miss it didn't matter but will it in the pros? If Oher can handle the mental aspect of the game than he might be the best tackle out of this group. Oher also slipped in pass protection a bit this year which caused him to drop in some scouts eyes. Still he shouldn't last past 15.
Britton and Beatty are mere replicas. Their main concern is weight and if they can bulk up and increase their strength, both will be mainstays for the long run. Doubtful overall. Both are as talented as anyone feet wise but in my book that only translates to Robert Gallery. However, both have shot up this whole season and might be in the first round after their respective pro days.Both are strickly fits in a zone blocking system as of now.
Overall, this might be the best group of tackles in years. Like last year, we might expect a massive run on tackles by teams where a 2nd rounder like Duane Brown gets snagged by the Texicans in the first round. Similar things will happen this year.
AND FAILS MISERABLY. Let's only hope he can run a country a bit better than pick a NCAA tourney bracket. And why pick doucheborough's team?? UGH. I should have voted for Nader.
Pregame thoughts: -They just showed the ending of the game in Montreal. Classy move by the Frenchies, giving their native son a standing Almost wish I was watching instead of being at a bar. But Devo, don't bars have tvs? No, my fake, italicized friend, Arlo & Esme is too winnerrific for tvs...but that's another story for another time.
-I remember listening to the first two innings of Game 7 of 2003 ALCS, and thinking that in a potentially historical game such as this, the announcers should rock tuxedos. I completely feel the same way tonight. In related news, I'm dressed to the 9's in my sweatpants and undershirt. Woo! History!
7:10-Wow. Langenbrunner. 1-0 NJ. SO much for my 6-1 Chicago theory. Right when you think this team is going to have a letdown game, they look just as dominant as ever.
7:13-Reason #2 why this team is so good-61 straight games for the Langenbrunner/Zajac/Parise line. Delay penalty coming up. Elias gets the points record here. Mark it.
7:14-Apparently the Blackhawks have been sucking recently, in 4th place 'mostly due to their fast start'. Hrmm, I had no idea. Speaking of which, not only is Nikolai Khabibulin still in the leagu-
7:16-Did i tell you or did i tell you? 2-0, Zajac from Parise and Martin. I think Martin's the only one of those trio above the age of 23.
7:17-As I was saying, Not only is Khabibulin still in the league, but he's playing in Chicago and still good, apparently. Who knew?
7:23-Now that nothing is happening, let me just say that if this game goes to a shootout, I'm rooting for the Blackhawks. Let Marty get the record Friday vs. Minnesota.
7:24-#28 Nicholas Havelid. If the Devils are going to trade for an aging defenseman, would it kill them to get Teppo Numminen? Somewhere in the top ten reasons I love the NHL are names like Teppo Numminen and Kimmo Timmonen.
7:27-So I'll ask. In light of the fact that he's the captain on the best team in the NHL, who would you rather have: Jamie Langenbrunner or Chris Drury? I say PROBABLY Drury, but if salaries are being taken into consideration, I take Langenbrunner, and there's really not even any argument you can make for Drury.
7:33-Yup, it's your daily Bobby Holik penalty. I can't even begin to explain how much this doesn't worry me.
7:36-Ok, the power play ended two minutes ago and the puck hasn't left the devil end. And...no goal. Sorry 2nd City, Marty aint giving up shit tonight.
7:39-20 down. 40 to go. 2-0 And really, the only issue is whether Marty will share this night with Elias. (presently tied with Johnny Mac for total points as a Devil)
7:50-A more Indian or Yinzer version of myself would probably smirk every time Daneyko says "the Devil fans here are going crazy." Go ahead guys, make your 'wow, the fans are going nuts? Both of them?' joke.
7:57-Aaaaannnndddd, the Blackhawks commit a penalty, all of 13 seconds into the period. 3-0. Mark it.
7:58-So with Nikolai "the Boulin Wall" Khabibulin, aka "the Boulin Wall" in net, at what score can I start making "Coach Quennville, tear down that wall!" jokes? I'm going with 5.
7:59-Remember when Dainus Zubrus was relevent on this team? Yeah, that was a fun few weeks. Time to move Rolston up to the 2nd line.
8:10-Yeah haven't been paying attention rcently. This game's pretty much over. Now Elias needs to get point #702 so that he's not continually pressing for that record setting point.
8:12-Another point worth bringing up because this game is fairly boring: Remember when the Bruins were running away with the #1 seed? Well now they're six points ahead of the Devils...and the Devils have 3 more to play. And the Devils have the tiebreaker in wins. Devils are gonna be the #1 seed. Mark it, dude.
8:16-"The Blackhawks have a chance to get back in this game on the power play." And I have a chance to be president if roughly 250 million people die first. And as I write this, Elias misses a 3 on 1 shorthanded chance and Marty makes two great saves. Yup, I missed the only good action of the period. FML
8:24-Gionta just took a one-timer slapshot from like 10 feet in front of the Boulin wall. For a very good player I've learned to really enjoy, this is still the worst shot in the NHL. It never works-either it hits the goalie in the numbers, or it gets deflected into the netting. Where was that awfulness in the '01 beanpot?
8:27-Wow. And as I say that, Gionta scores on a one-timer slapshot, on a pass from YOUR ALL-TIME NEW JERSEY DEVIL POINT LEADER, PATRICK ELIAS!
8:28-Marty's shutout is done, 3-1. Ok, he'll continue his quest for the shutout record another day.
8:32-A quick word about the dueling Devil records as we enter the second intermission... So as far as my favorite athletes-I've always been a bigger fan of guys who make up the supporting cast than the fan favorite. And in the same way that I've never liked Derek Jeter as much as Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez, I was always a bigger fan of Niedermayer, Elias, Arnott, and Langenbrunner than Brodeur. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I'm thrilled that Brodeur has the 2nd or 3rd most important record in hockey, it's pretty freakin cool that Patrik Elias set the Devils points record and will go down as the greatest offensive player in Devil history...until Parise breaks his record in 2018. ONTO THE THIRD!
8:54-Penalty kill done. In the same way that the Devils ALMOST gave up a shot, I ALMOST got nervous.
8:55-And just like that, Rolston's stick was slashed out of his hands. Power play Devils.
8:57-And after 4 Lemieux-on-Draper level hits by the Blackhawks, Langenbrunner got called for a bs dive. For Langenbrunner's efforts, he gets sucker punched by Versteeg, which I believe is Norweigan for "Tie Domi."
9:03-So lost in all of these milestones and records is the fact that the Devils have manhandled one of the better Western Conference teams through 47 minutes of play. Afternoon games always have an awkward feel because everyone's schedule is off, but the game this Sunday afternoon in Boston should be ridiculous.
9:21-Ok, this blog is done. Congrats to Brodeur and Elias, the greatest Goalie ever and greatest Devils forward, respectively.
9:22-Goal. Soft one. 3-2. This figures. 2 minutes to go.
9:24-Me:"Sports history about to be made, you may want to watch." Mom: (without looking up from her newspaper): "Mmm hmm" Apparently my mom speaks for 99% of America. Who knew?
Wikipedia-Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, spent college summers working at the most godforsaken place on earth, South of the Border. Yup, America is screwed.
It has been a tragic week across both AM/FM radio waves, and heads are rolling faster than you can say I can't believe K-Rock only played 6 Linkin Park songs last hour.
The latest tragedy? None other than original host of the PTI pregame show known as Around The Horn, Max Kellerman, and his mid-day 1050 AM show. I'm not going to sugarcoat things: Max was an arrogant, spoiled white brat. And he wasn't particularly intelligent either. But ya know what? He was an arrogant, spoiled, unintelligent Giants and Yankees fan. And he wasn't afraid to let little things such as logic get in the way of arguments such as "Eli Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL today" or "Derek Jeter might be the greatest living baseball player." Did I agree with him? Absolutely not, but it was fun to hear someone make ridiculously arrogant arguments that I (and 90% of society) was too levelheaded to make.
So while Max was probably in the, uh, lower half of the intellectual food chain, there's a lot (or at least a few) good sports radio hosts who tend to like lousy teams. And it's not worth sitting through 3 hours of Luis Castillo talk just to hear intelligent and/or rational sports banter from the likes of Roberts & Benningo.
So to Max Kellerman, next time the Giants are the undisputed best team in the NFL for about 7 weeks in mid-Fall, your arrogant and ignorant pro-Giants views will be missed.
In other words, sometime around 2040 Giant fans will start to wish that Max was still around.
But on the bright side, we now get Colin Cowherd, who makes Michael Kay sound as sincere as Beningo. Awesome.
According to the New York Times, K-Rock’s listenership had fallen to 21st in New York’s Arbitron rankings in the important Age 12-and-above demographic for the month of January.
This proves what I've been saying for the last year or so, that K-Rock is no better than the 4th best rock radio station in the area, behind 101.9 (classic/modern/indie rock), 104.3 (classic rock), and 105.5 (classic/hard rock; Jersey station). For what it's worth, how many stations can be below K-Rock? There can't be much more than 21 fm stations, no?
On a sadder note, R.I.P. Opie and Anthony in the morning. I hardly knew ye. Seriously, I started listening to them roughly two weeks ago, and now? I gotta wait for satellite radio to go belly up so that they can come back on another radio station.
But on a related note, anyone out there who left their radio on K-Rock should really check out 101.9, including Matt Pinfield in the morning. A fantastic station, and the only radio station that has played new bands in NY within the last 10 years.
As a side note, is it just me or did the Chris Brown/Rihanna beating do more for both of their careers than any of their music ever did? I mean, they're tabloid fodder now, and they were barely on top-40 radio before. It reminds me when Dale Earnhardt's death elevated auto racing (and Earnhardt's legacy) more than any of Dale's races ever could.
Breaking news from the SUS Legal Correspondent, The Brooklyn Hillbilly- (not to be confused with SUS Legal Counsel, Devo)
ESPN: NORFOLK, Va. -- Fallen NFL star Michael Vick must appear at a bankruptcy hearing next month but should pay his own way from the Kansas prison where he is serving time for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy, a judge ruled Wednesday.
At an hour long hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro rejected the government's suggestions that he either postpone Vick's April 2 bankruptcy confirmation hearing or allow the suspended player to testify by video hookup from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan.
"I'm not going to be put in a position of determining credibility or demeanor over a television," said Santoro, who has insisted since Vick filed for bankruptcy in July that he would have to testify in person.
...
Santoro also balked at delaying the hearing, citing the rights of creditors who are owed millions of dollars.
For the first time, Vick's attorneys publicly confirmed that he has been approved for transfer to home confinement home no sooner than May 21, about two months before his scheduled release from federal custody.
Vick's attorneys had been saying his move to a halfway house was imminent, but Woodward said Vick's probation officer told him Tuesday that Vick will serve the last few weeks of his 23-month sentence at his home in Hampton.
Normally, I'm a law and order type, a real straight arrow. But Judge Santoro can get off his high horse on this case. Bankruptcy proceedings take all of five minutes to accomplish, but apparently this guy has such a hard on for Mike Vick that he has to gaze into his eyes like W did to Putin to trust that hes going to repay his creditors. Look, its obvious this guy is either a Falcons season ticket holder or a UVA fan, theres no other reason he would require a cross-country trip for Vick in shackles.
Before you puppy lovers get all worked up, I'm not a Vick supporter and I think he needed to cool his jets in the clink for a couple months. Frankly, I hated the fucker when he shat on WVU in college. But the mans gotta make a living and I hope he makes it back to the NFL. By the way, the deal hes about to strike is a pretty good one- Vick's bankruptcy plan would allow him to keep the first $750,000 of his annual pay. After that, a percentage would go to his creditors based on a sliding scale. That's probably better than any deal ever gotten in the history of US Bankruptcy Court. Except for the one Bernie Madoff and his wife will probably strike in a few months.
All that aside, the guy is getting out in like 2 months. This hearing cant wait 'til then? Congrats Judge Santoro, you got your 15 minutes of fame, now go back in your hole.
Tight ends overall this year are a deep and extremely talented group of guys that will likely become factors on Sunday. There is no Shockey, Gates or Winslow out of the bunch but they all have potential. Teams are showing way more TE sets because of the various mismatches they create by being on the field. As the blocking fullback/battering ram system goes the way of the dodo, the two tight end scheme has never been more widespread so teams will continue to load up. Pettigrew is the best of the bunch and is a likely top 20 pick. He isn't explosive like Winslows and Shockey but he can block real well and provide a solid weapon in the intermediate passing zones. He apparently also got real drunk and assaulted a cop in his junior year. Stay classy. He also ran a horrendous 4.8 40 times but plays much faster. Behind him are a varying group of guys that go anywhere from round 2 -5. Jared Cook ran the second fastest time of the TE ever this side of Vernon Davis and has catipulted himself into round 2nd discussion. Nelson blew up at the combine and moved himself from 2nd day pick to now a 3rd rounder. The rest are solid contributors with Davon Drew probably being the next best Tackle Eligible besides Pettigrew. Coffman/Beckum were a great college TEs but isn't going to threaten anyone with his speed or blocking but he is still steady. Ingram has WR speed but TE size. The issue with him is if he can show any team that he has his wheels still after blowing an ACL. Still he is by far the guy i'm most intrigued with and would love to see how he does on his pro day.
1) Brandon Pettigrew / Oklahoma State / 1st
2) Jared Cook / South Carolina / 2nd
3) Shawn Nelson / So. Miss. / 2nd - 3rd
4) Chase Coffman / Missouri / 2nd - 3rd
5) Travis Beckum / Wisconsin / 3rd - 4th
6) Cornelius Ingram / Florida / 4th
7) James Casey / Rice / 4th
8) Davon Drew / ECU / 5th
9) Ryan Purvis / BC / 5th
10) John Phillips / VA/ 5th - 6th
11) Darius Hill / Ball St. / 5th - 6th
FBs:
As defenses are getting more and more exotic, offenses need more weapons on the field. The battering ram days are over. Fullbacks need to know be able to block well, run on short yardage and catch a swing pass in the flats. Fiammetta might be the best of the bunch in that regard although he wasn't used a lot as a runner. Johnson is a true lead blocker and a dangerous one at that but his running and receiving abilities are lacking. Southerland is another multi dimensional weapon who even played some tight end due to injuries but is a step slower than Fiammetta. Cook might be this year's Le'Ron McClain and he can even throw some passes. Lane is a beast at 270 but might eat himself into the guard position if he isn't careful.
So seriously, I've been out of the loop for the last two weeks. I poke my head out of the sand for a minute, and everyone's talking about getting rid of fighting in hockey? What, was the popularity of Ovechkin and Crosby too much for Bettman? Is he trying to ensure that the NHL maintains a healthy competition with the WNBA for the 8th most important professional sports league? The only people who want this are people like Mike Wilbon and other blowhards who will never be strong hockey fans. Look, I know that there's crazy people out there. Hell, nearly half the population votes republican every four years. But does the NHL really think that a decrease in violence will bring more fans?
But alas, my beef is not with Bettman. At least, not this time. Stan Fischler, longtime Devil studio analyst, also known as "The Maven" (probably by people as smart as Colin Cowherd, but that's another douchebag for another time) is one of the foes of not just fighting, but one can also assume, Christmas, Ice Cream, and the Easter Bunny. And in discussing his hatred of hockey fights, Fischler unleashed this gem, "Hockey fights will never be outlawed until someone dies from a fight."
Um, ok, so I guess that means fights in hockey are here to stay? It's not that Fischler is wrong-a death that directly results from a hockey fight will surely be the end of fighting. But here's my question-can you remember the last time anyone even got hurt fighting? Cam Jannsen separated a shoulder throwing a punch a few years ago, and that's pretty much it. Hey Maven, the fighters are pros. They don't get hurt throwing punches on the ice. Now go get your fu$*king shinebox!
NEW YORK (AP) — Beginning Tuesday, Burger King will open its first Whopper Bar in Universal CityWalk, a 30-acre shopping and entertainment complex at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando
Customers can customize their Whopper, Double Whopper or Steakhouse XT burger with up to 22 different toppings, including steak sauce, smoked bacon and guacamole. Burger King workers will add the toppings in front of customers for a sushi bar-like atmosphere.
This might be the best idea of all time. Nothing like an upscale sushi house environment serving the Whopper. Can you think of a more romantic joint then this? Nothing says romance like a whopper bar with toppings and the cooking is done right in front of you!
Isn't it great that now you can see the 15 year old burger tosser from your local high school now making that burger right in front of you! You can now watch him spit in your burger now instead of the surprise "secret" sauce realization.
Or actually it's just a big toppings bar, not much different from any salad bar, that should clear up the mass of humanity in the front, hopefully. Hey rock on. I can't wait to see this in NYC.
It's baaaack...yup, basketball finally returns to Madison Square Garden in the form of the Big East Tournament. Time for an insightful and unbiased prediction of how it's all gonna go down:
Tuesday 1st round
(9) Cincinnati vs. (16) Depaul Don't know, don't care. Let's go with Cincy, given that they're the higher seed and all. Cincy, 90-76.
(12) Georgetown vs. (13) St. Johns There are 11 Georgetown students I don't loathe. And they're all on the basketball team. Felipe Lopez ain't walking through that door. Georgetown, 80-62.
(10) Notre Dame vs. (15) Rutgers The ghost of Charlie Weis will make his post-surgery-but-amazingly-still-massive impression felt. But did you see ND football last year? This is not a positive for Notre Dame. Rutgers, 69-60.
(11) Seton Hall vs. (14) South Florida It's Jeremy Hazell's world. We're just living in it. And yes, I had to look up that name, but he's apparently pretty good. Seton Hall, 72-70
Wednesday 2nd round
(8) Providence vs. (9) Cincinnati Amazingly indifferent, so tie goes to the team that can include God Shamgod as alumni. Providence 59-52.
(5) Marquette vs. (12) Georgetown Screw it. Georgetown gets another win in honor of Roy Hibbert. Georgetown 61-60.
(7) West Virginia vs. (15) Rutgers Joe (Jack) Alexander is not walking through the door. State University of New Jersey (SUNJ) gets revenge for the yearly ass-kickings in football and pittsnogles WVU back to Morgantown. Rutgers 78-72.
(6) Syracuse vs. (11) Seton Hall Sure, Seton Hall loses this game, but let the record show that a SHU intramural football team would still beat Syracuse's sad excuse of a football team. Syracuse 80-60.
Thursday (3rd round) (1) Louisville vs. (8) Providence God (Shamgod) can't save you now. Louisville 85-72. (4) Villanova vs. (12) Georgetown Villanova wins and Georgetown students have to drown their sorrows in their 'element'-excluded gated community of a campus. Douchebags. 'Nova 95-68.
(2) Pittsburgh vs. (15) Rutgers McDonalds All-American Mike Rosario, pictured above, says hi. The SUS reader may not know him yet, but after this game? You will. SUNJ 65-64.
(3) UConn vs. (6) Syracuse Devendorf, in snowbelt speak, means douchebag. UConn 80-78
Semifinals
(1) Louisville vs. (4) Villanova Louisville is overrated. But 'Nova is constantly slightly better than average and nothing more. Louisville 68-65 (3) UConn vs. (15) Rutgers What, you think this game is going to be close? Please. SUNJ rolls, 99-48.
Finals (1) Louisville vs. (15) Rutgers So the tidal wave of momentum at SUNJ should stop against Louisville, why n0w? Yeah, not happening. SUNJ TAKES THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT, 104-2.
And there you have it! Pandemonium returns to Piscataway!
Using his own financial resources, in 1907 William published a pamphlet "The Waste of Daylight." In it he proposed that the clocks should be advanced by 80 minutes in the summer. The evenings would then remain light for longer, increasing daylight recreation time and also saving ₤2.5 million in lighting costs. He suggested that the clocks should be advanced by 20 minutes at a time at 2 am on successive Sundays in April and be retarded by the same amount on Sundays in September.
Speaking of retarded, some would call his pamphlet a waste. Anyway, thanks asshole for making me sleep an hour less and be tired as shit. Oh and for stealing an hour of my bar time on Saturday night. Douche. As an fyi, Willett is the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
Overall, the WR class is better than it was last year when not one player went in the first round of the draft. This year's class has at least 3-4 players that could get in there with a couple other guys possibly sneaking in late 1st early 2nd.
I'll classify the draft as top heavy. Crabtree was a stud in college but how his game translates to the NFL is another story. Crabtree played in a wide open offense where numbers get inflated but was dominate. The main concern with Crabtree is top speed and whether or not he can get by NFL defenders. While he isn't as polished as Larry Fitzgerald out of college, Crabtree is a similar player and can be tremendous weapon as Fitzgerald was in the playoffs.
Jeremy Maclin is a play maker plain and simple. In Missiouri, Maclin had to play close to the line of scrimmage and thus was given chance to show what he can do. He makes defenders miss and has top end speed to blow by defenders in the open field. Moreover, Maclin handled roles other than receiver in runner and returner. The question marks with him involve his route running and his ability to get open. By all accounts, Maclin is hard working and should easily work on his routes and become a top play maker for years to come. He's also 6' 1'' which might even make him an outside shot at getting drafted before Crabtree.
Bey was one of the winners of the combine as his stock shot up from a rd 2 to a round 1 with a 4.31 40 time. Bey was originally penciled in as one of the best in the country but played in a Maryland program without any semblence of an offense. Bey might be the fastest guy in the draft but he is extremely raw as a player being a former track guy turned football player. Still route running and hands are weaknesses but Bey can make up for it and than some with some more work and experience. Bey is also 6' 3''.
Percy Harvin was one of the most dangerous players in college football under the Florida spread but that also limited his development. Harvin lines up all over the field and can be quite the weapon in the wild cat offense but in the traditional wr sense Harvin is a little raw too and not blessed with the size of the big three. He's also been injury prone in his career and carries the stigma of being a Gator receiver. While that more has to do with Spurrier's squad, that same thought process might scare of some teams in need of a receiver. Still Harvin could be a big steal in the late 1st round or early 2nd and be another version of Reggie Bush.
Nicks made the college football catch of the year and has vaulted that into a potential 1st round success. Nick is extremely solid all around. He doesn't have the speed of Bey, Hands of Crabtree or the playmaking ability of Maclin/Harvin but he just is a solid guy that does everything well. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Devo's boy Kenny Britt might be what's ailing the Giants but he comes with his share of questions also. Britt is almost a younger carbon copy of Plaxico Burress. He is tall and lean yet physical at times. He has outstanding body control and routinely made big plays for STD U. Britt does have the primma donna attitude and takes plays off but potentially he might be has no real holes outside of the mental aspect. When motivated, he makes plays in the air or over the middle. Not blessed with blazing speed, he can still get open and behind corners. With his height and overall frame, he is a tremendous weapon in the red zone. Britt has some incredible potential and might end up being the best receiver in this draft in about 5 years or he could bust out of the league in the same way Charles Rogers did.
Below them are guys that are hits or misses depending on what depth teams are looking for. Some intriguing prospects include Patrick Turner 6' 5'' receiver from USC and Derrick Williams who was the best receiver in the nation out of high school but failed in the expectation regards. A lot of the guys in round 3,4,5 are not finished products but have upside so teams can take a flier on them. There are also some other prospects not listed that could become contributors in the NFL.
The Seinfeld cast is making another must-see appearance. EW has learned exclusively that the four stars of NBC's long-running comedy -- Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards -- will be featured in a multiple-episode story arc on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm this fall.
OH SHIT. First off I was already looking forward to season 7 of Curb anyway and now they drop this. This could be gloriously amazing. No no this will be gloriously amazing with or without Micheal Richards's inane ramblings.
I only ask that we get one Wayne Knight appearance.
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